How We Should Pray
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(5) <Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,>“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (7) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.’ (Matthew 6:5-7)
We are often told that in order to be in the Lord’s will, we must be in fellowship with other Believers, study Scripture, and pray. (I know this as I often implore others to do so in this blog.) But something we don’t often talk about is ‘how to pray’. Jesus, as part of His Sermon on the Mount, gives us some do’s and don’ts about prayer, then gives an example of a proper prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer should not be taken lightly; it should be seen as the method one takes to directly interface and petition our Triune God. We can direct our prayers to God as a whole or specifically to either the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit; God is all Three.
Prayer should not be done as a show, or an exhibition. Prayer should not be used to demonstrate one’s self-promotion or piety, as Jesus states in Matthew 6:5. Regardless of what you prayed for, if you prayed to be seen by others Jesus tells us the intent of your prayer, to be seen, was answered; anything you mentioned in the prayer was superfluous. It is better to pray in secret to eliminate this intent.
Often, we pray corporately, in church or during a time of fellowship (eating lunch with friends, Life Group, etc.). Jesus did not say we could not pray in public or corporately, only that the intent should never be for a self-promoting, pious purpose. A public prayer should be focused on the person or the group the prayer is for. I have prayed for people in Walmart and BJ’s, for example, but the prayer is between me, the person I’m praying for, and Jesus. It is done not with a verbose tone but for only for the Lord and the person receiving prayer, and meant only for our ears and not to draw attention.
When praying, we do not need to use ‘big’ words or try to speak the King’s English. We have a humble King in Jesus, He doesn’t need a soliloquy of prose to accept your prayer, just speak to Him using your normal tone using everyday language in your prayer. Prayer should be short and to the point.
The Lord’s Prayer gives us an outline of a structure to pray; Jesus starts the Lord’s Prayer in direction, and praise of His rule over Creation; “Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Then Jesus provides the Father His prayer request, the need He is requesting God to provide; “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Jesus ends His prayer with praise for His omnipotence; “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
One trap we can fall into is making a prayer routine, to the point where it is meaningless. We do pray for certain things continuously, like praying for our children or grandchildren every day. We need to lift our friends and loved ones in prayer, but we have to be aware and stay focused on ensuring our request is ‘fresh’. Don’t say words for the sake of speaking but truly are going to the Lord our earnest request for His intervention. If not, then we begin to ‘babble like the pagans’ and the prayer becomes only a meaningless mantra.
In wrapping up, always understand that the Lord does answer all prayers. His answers may not match the results we desire. His answers are, in simplicity, ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Not Yet’. If your prayer does not result in the outcome you were looking for, this does not mean the Lord didn’t listen; He did, and gave you the perfect answer. There have been prayers that I have prayed that I did not get the answer I was looking for (admittedly, usually ‘No’), and have later realized that was the best answer for me and my request. Continue to pray meaningful and focused prayers, fellowship with other Believers, and study the Word – those three things will keep you in His will.
